One in five teenagers have bought or tried electronic cigarettes, and of these 16 per cent have never otherwise smoked, according to new research in the journal BMC Public Health. The survey of over 16,000 14-17 year-olds by researchers at Liverpool John Moores University revealed that boys, those who already smoked, and youngsters living in deprived areas were more likely to have experimented with e-cigarettes. The study also uncovered a strong link between alcohol use and access to e-cigarettes with teenagers who regularly binge drink being four times more likely to try e-cigarettes than those who don’t drink.

Study co-author Mark Bellis said: “While the debate on e-cigarettes has focused largely on whether or not they act as a gateway to tobacco cigarette use, ecigarettes themselves contain a highly addictive drug that may have more serious and longer lasting impacts on children because their brains are still developing.”